What Dreams May Come
by NoDrogs
Summary: Cassiel is tampering in the dreams of Ash, Emily, and Missi.
1. Chapter 1

Title: What Dreams May Come

_Story inspired by the 'Misfile' web comic by Chris Hazelton, artwork found on the website, information from YouTube videos, and other sources. Special thanks to my beta-reader Love Robin._

Chapter 1: Two's a Dream, Three's a Nightmare

Cassiel floated in the sky above Mt. Greylock, glaring down. She had finally convinced her superiors to give her enough slack so she could resume her campaign against Rumisiel.

To prove he was Up To Something.

However her options were limited, for both Rumisiel and his brother Vashiel were aware she was in the area, and thus vigilant against her causing any mischief in their direction. So she dared not do anything directly against them or Ash, Rumisiel's human... _trash!_ ...girlfriend. How he could continue to choose a mortal lover over _her,_ Cassiel could not fathom. If it got around she risked becoming a laughing stock in Heaven.

Still, not for nothing was she a niece of Lucifer. It wasn't a smart thing to go around declaring Up Above, or to remind any unaware or willing to overlook her relationship to the exiled, former Heavenly CEO. Yet the fact remained, the cunning and scheming which was an earmark of his clan ran through her -'blood' would be the mortal analogue but the true term was not easily described in human concepts- as well. There were many, many ways she could influence the mortal human world. Many of them too subtle for even Rumisiel or Vashiel to detect if she was clever enough.

And Cassiel was VERY clever.

She took out an artifact which was her 'badge' as a member of the Fourth Branch. Some of the Divine Host, obsessed with Human television programs, called it a 'tricorder'. Some got Holy Swords and Blades; some got Multi-tools; she got a science fiction prop, useful though it may be. What the unit actually did was to amplify angelic senses, allowing her to sense and measure things she normally could not. However, even angels were not God, not prescient; she could not sense what had happened in the past or what would happen in the future, and there were limits on what she could see in the present.

She stared down at the town, eyes unfocussed. What she saw could best be described in this manner: Take a pot of spaghetti. Add several drops of red food coloring without stirring so each strand received a different shading of red. Then dump the pot onto a model city and illuminate with a black light. Now consider that each 'strand' was a connection between two humans. Gradually, with the device's augmentation, she managed to adjust her focus until she spotted the node among the wild tangle of lines which represented Ash Upton.

Like every human, the teenager radiated dozens if not hundreds of lines, but only five were really strong enough for Cassiel to perceive as lines separate and distinct from all the rest. The first two the angel was quick to confirm and temporarily dismiss as links between Ash and her parents. The third link was strange, duo-tone coloring and attached emotions marking it as fear on the girl's end, yet friendship at, and from, the other. Whatever caused it, it too was not a link the angel was interested at in the moment. The remaining strong lines led to two other girls; one apparently the same age as Ash, the other about two years younger.

These two were colored by sexual desire. Cassiel did not bother trying to find Ash's link to Rumisiel; angel/angel and angel/human links were hidden, even to her tricorder-enhanced senses.

She followed the lines to the other two girls, seeing that the two had a strand linking each other. That line had overtones of anger, envy, and friendship. What fools these mortals were, to allow their emotions to be so mixed.

Floating with legs curled up under her, Cassiel mused about what she was seeing. Although not exactly in 'midair' -another human conceptualization promulgated by the rare few with enough of The Sight to actually see angels- she still shifted her position a bit for better comfort. "Now, what merriment can I do with this?"

* * *

Emily stared at her desk. Currently there were two items on it; a psychology textbook and a poster of Kay Wheeler. Kay Wheeler had been her middle school celebrity crush, but it has been she who was crushed years later upon finding out he was gay. More importantly, it was he who had raised an important question. If Emily had never tried it... how did she _know_ she was not homosexual? She had finally admitted, at least to herself, that she had feelings for Ash. The one time they had kissed properly, both awake and prepared for it, she finally recognized what it was she gained from her fellow Misfile: A feeling of safety. However, was her attraction for Ash-the-boy trapped inside, or Ash-the-girl whose mom was a former sexy lingerie model and who had obviously inherited her mom's good looks?

It was an important question, and one Emily saw only one way to answer. She had kissed Cas, a boy from Cape Cod and probably one of the nicest guys she had ever met, and felt nothing. No spark. Not the way Ash could make her feel just by being nearby or hugging her. Kissing Ash answered no questions, except to prove that she rather enjoyed kissing Ash. Therefore in her mind there was only one logical thing to do...

*Ding Dong*

Answer the doorbell.

"Hey!" said Missi. The perky little Chinese girl glanced at Emily, then looked around. "I didn't see Ash's car in the driveway, where is she?"

"She's off visiting her mother today," Emily explained. "My mom is out too... it's just you and me here."

"Soooo... why did you call me to come over?" Missi asked, puzzled.

Emily took a breath, "I want to find out something." Before Missi or her own nervousness could stop her, with hands on shoulders, she pulled the shorter, younger girl close enough to pressed her lips against Missi's.

Taken by surprise, Missi stiffened in shock before relaxing. Her arms reached about, wrapping around Emily's back.

Emily broke the kiss, stepping back into the doorway. Missi blinked, a hand reaching up reflexively to touch her lips. "Wha... what's wrong."

"I... I think we both know that I have feelings for Ash," said Emily. "We both know you do. But I...I'm not sure if what I feel is just for Ash, or maybe girls in general."

"So, that's why you kissed me?" Missi said with a frown, fists on hips. "Well, I'm sorry I'm such a bad kisser."

"Wait," said Emily. "You're not a bad kisser. It's just..."

"You didn't want to be seen kissing another girl in the doorway?" Missi asked, taking a step forward, almost toe-to-toe to the older girl so the door could be closed behind her. She reached out, about to put her arms arround Emily.

"Stop," ordered Emily, taking Missi's wrists. "I know I'm giving you mixed signals, but... if we're going to do this, you have to let me be in control, ok?"

Missi bit her lower lip, uncertain.

"I'm not going to hurt you or abandon you," promised Emily. "Trust me."

"Ok," came the reply, almost too softly for Emily to hear her over her own racing heart. Something about this, about taking control, was turning the age misfiled girl on. Her next move was impulsive. She reached for her headband, untying it. She had never done that before in front of the exuberant other girl, preferring to keep her widow's peak hidden. Still holding the strip of fabric, she took Missi's wrists and gently pulled them behind her back. Using the headband, she soon had Missi's wrists tied securely.

Now, more confident, Emily placed one hand on the back of the other girl's head, the other hand cupping her bottom through the tight jeans she wore. She bent down, kissing Missi firmly. Her tongue reached out and stroked over Missi's lips, prompting the younger girl to open her mouth for Emily's tongue.

Missi submissively allowed the other's tongue to probe into her mouth, making no move to do any exploring of her own, teasing the older one by her own tongue's passivity. How long the kiss lasted, neither girl could say. Finally, Emily broke for air, looking deeply into the younger girl's expressive and exotic eyes.

Missi's face was flushed, her pupils dilated and her gaze a little unfocussed. She was breathing faster, in shallow gasps, than she normally did. In short, a textbook display of arousal, and the older girl had read enough textbooks to know. Any thought of further hesitation flew out of Emily's mind. She reached down, grasping the front of Missi's shirt, tugging it up and over her head and down her arms midway. She then left the garment there, further binding the girl's arms as Emily reached out a hand, cupping and stroking the younger girl's small breasts through her thin and lacy bra. It clasped in the front, which Emily unfastened. the bound girl hunched over, as if trying to hide her smaller breasts. It was not so much that she was uncomfortable with her body and self-image, but Emily had pointed out the lacking of her charms enough to feel vulnerable in this situation.

However her former taunter now gently placed hands on her shoulders, and Missi gradually relaxed, unfolding to allow Emily to see.

Missi's breasts were small yet firm; with dark nickel-sized areolas which contrasted with her delicate oriental skin. Each nipple was pierced with a stainless-steel or silver barbell. Emily reached out, stroking the small buds with her thumbs, and was rewarded with a gasp of pleasure from her bound companion.

"Ash told me that you and she made out," Emily said. She pinched one of the nipples, tugging on it lightly. "We share everything. Did she let you take off her bra?"

Missi gasped, arching at the sensations. Part of her felt like she was floating, overwhelmed, like she was riding the biggest rollercoaster ever. The only thing she could think of which even came close was that first ride with Ash, going down the mountain Old Road. "Y-yes..."

"And did she take off your bra?" Emily asked, resuming stroking her breasts. She felt vaguely guilty, remembering she had often made fun of the girl's bustline, saying she could be on the Itty-Bitty Titty Committee. While small, the breasts were definitely there; hardly the mosquito bites she had sometimes taunted.

"No...," said Missi, not even considering lying. "I had to do that on my own."

"Wow, Ash really WAS the girl in your relationship," said Emily. "Well, don't worry." She reached down and pushed Missi's thong and jeans down to her knees, exposing the girl's sex. "I'm the one in control now."

* * *

Missi opened her eyes with a start, panting in sweat.

For once, she was glad her parents were off visiting her foster brother, Tom. Otherwise, they might have had questions about her _very_ wet dream. Questions Missi was not ready to have to answer. Granted, it would be a bit hypocritical for them to question her decision to being a lesbian, but she did not want to have to confess she was dreaming about being restrained by another girl.

She closed her eyes, hoping her next dream would feature Ash.

* * *

With a gasp, Emily sat upright in her bed, eyes wide, sheets falling away to pool at her waist, face flushed.

She had some weird dreams before -and very recently- but that had to be in the top ten _worse._ It was not a dream she could discuss with Ash, EVER. She could not even begin to comprehend where the idea of restraining Missi like that came from. In the dream it had just seemed the natural thing to do. _Maybe I'm channeling my old bitchiness again,_ she silently ventured.

She closed her eyes, resolving to go back to sleep. Maybe, if she went to sleep fast enough, she'd forget all about that stupid dream.

* * *

Ash opened her eyes.

"Weird...," she said, a smile creeping to her lips. "Hey, I'm fantasizing about two girls having sex! And I wasn't one of them! Yes! Total guy dream!"

Ok, so maybe it was a little weird imagining Emily and Missi going at it behind her back, but dreams were supposed to be a little weird. It was not like the two would do anything like that in real life. Well... Missi might. The girl was wilder and more adventurous than either Emily or herself, despite being the youngest of the three. After all, she was the only one of them to have a body piercings or a tattoo. Anyway, it was not a dream Ash would be telling Emily about, except maybe in the broadest of details.

Closing her eyes, Ash curled up on her side, wondering if the dream might continue.

* * *

Cassiel opened her eyes.

Technically speaking, angels had no need for sleep -again not in the sense of the human concept. An hour or two in a meditative centering trance had the same effect. However, most lower level angelics, especially while in the mortal planes, preferred sleep. In addition, Cassiel was not advanced enough to enter the dreams of mortals -much less a group of them- unless she was functionally asleep as well.

"Well, that was unexpectedly entertaining," she mused with a frown. Having deliberately entangled the linking threads of all three girls, she had linked herself in as well; but Ash not having had an avatar-self actively participating in the shared dream was both unexpected and perplexing. The entire experiment had been to provoke an emotional response from Ash, and how could Cassiel do that if the girl was not directly involved?

Still, it was far from a bad start, as such things were. Maybe the idea of her two friends as lesbians would bring Ash's own latent lesbian tendencies, which she knew was boiling under her surface, more to the forefront, causing her to break up with Rumisiel.

_Wouldn't that simply be delicious?_ An angel dumped by a mortal was one of the most embarrassing things the former could endure of the latter.

Cassiel sat up, shifting her astral posture to one more conducive to the aforementioned centering meditation. She needed time to better work out how best to capitalize upon what she had learned this night.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: What Dreams May Come

Author's note: Based on the webcomic MisFile, thanks to LoveRobin for helping with this story.

Chapter 2: When Daydreams Turn to Nightmares...

Emily sighed, looking up at Tempest High. Before the misfile, she had seen school and time with her friends as a temporary but much needed refuge from her mother. Now it mostly reminded her of the two years of effort which only Ash and she remembered now. Worse, she could still remember the strange, vividly erotic dream of the previous night.

"Hey!" said Ash, smiling and waving. The boy-turned-girl seemed happier than normal today. "How are you?"

"Fine," Emily said. She glanced around. "Where's Missi?" she asked in what was becoming an automatic habit, then groaned to herself. She was NOT going to think of Missi _that_ way. It had just been a stupid, silly dream.

"She's probably at class already," said Ash. She laughed. "Hey, I had a dream about you two, by the way."

"You what?" squeaked Emily, reacting like a guilty child caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey!" Ash backed up a little, misreading the other's reaction. "You said you didn't mind when I dreamed about you. I just thought I should let you know."

"Oh... yeah... thanks."

"So, did you dream about me last night?" the former boy prodded hopefully. How neat would it be if the girl she would so date if once again a boy were dreaming of her in return?

"No!"

"Whoa... why are you getting so defensive?"

"I've got to get to class," turning, Emily hurried off abruptly. She had no real need to rush, but wanted to get away before Ash asked any more questions about their dreams. _~I'm not... I mean, the only time I've had sex, I was so unsure I was practically the submissive. Ok, so it sucked and I wish I had used a safety word..._ GAH!_ What am I_ thinking_?~  
_

Cassiel smirked. She was in her human guise and posing again as a Tempest High student, but was not close enough to hear what Emily and Ash had been talking about. However, judging from the way long-haired girl had rushed off, the first dream had definitely affected her. Now all she had to do was find a way to actively involve, and thus affect, Ash as well.

"Are you ok, Emily?"

"Oh!" Emily jerked. "I'm fine Mr. Walker. Just... didn't sleep well last night."

"Well, be careful. When you're around running car engines is no time to doze off. I thought that would be one thing Mr. Brewster would definitely have been able to teach you." the teacher playfully tapped the top of her head with a lightly rolled car magazine before moving on to the next student.

* * *

Lunchtime in the Tempest cafeteria was normally for a time for friends to talk. This afternoon though, Ash could not help noticing how Emily and Missi were avoiding looking at each other... well, more then usual, at least. "What's up with you two?" Ash asked.

"Nothing!" said Emily, almost a bit too hastily. "Missi, tell Ash nothing is wrong."

"Everything is fine," said Missi confirmed swiftly, if a tad subdued from her normal perkiness, looking the other way.

_~Did she just obey me?~ ~Did I just obey her?~_

Ash shrugged. "Well, the Auto ModerZ place finally got in a second set of Iridium Spark Plugs for me to install in the Monster... do you two want to help me to install them?"

"I'v...I've got a lot of homework," Emily lied, not wanting to spend more time around the Chinese girl until the memory of the dream had faded.

"I'll be glad to help!"

"Um... actually, those type of sparkplugs are kind of special between me and Emily," said Ash. "I'd rather wait until she can help with them."

"Oh... ok," Missi drooped, disappointed.

"There's some general tuning work on the Monster you can help me with," offered Ash. A less than perky Missi was like a freshly kicked puppy. A sad one that made you feel like you would rather have been kicked yourself then see it like that.

* * *

"Emily?"

"I'm in here, Mom," the girl looked up from her desk piled with textbooks.

Emily's mom came in, sitting down on the bed. Her right hand smoothed out the cover for a moment. "I've been thinking about you and Ash recently."

"Mom, please lay off! I told you, she's my best friend!"

"Is that... all?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well... Doctor Upton does have a lot of pull in Harvard, and I'm worried about the way your school work has been slipping recently..."

"Wha... what does Harvard have to do with Ash and I?"

" 'Ash and me'. Good grammar is important to getting into a good school." The old taskmaster inside her mother peeked out for a second.

"Fine, what does Harvard have to do with Ash and me?"

"Well, I was just thinking if you two were... romantically involved, Dr. Upton would be more motivated to use his influence to get his daughter's _girlfriend_ into a good school."

"You want me and Ash to...to.. I can't believe this!" Emily felt her cheeks flushing even as the thought dug itself deep... well, _deeper..._ in her brain.

"It's not like it would need be permanent or anything, you'd just be a LUG. Plenty of girls are."

"A Lug?"

"Lesbian Until Graduation. Once at Harvard, you could dump Ash and look for a real man. Plenty of guys would like the idea of being married to a woman who'd had a lesbian fling."

"MOM!"

* * *

"What is it, dear?"

Emily jerked upright, blinking. "Huh?"

"You called out my name," Emily's mom said patiently, sticking her head through the bedroom doorway. "I guess you fell asleep doing homework and were having a nightmare."

"Oh... yeah," the daughter blushed, the memory still vivid, the abrupt change to wakefulness somewhat jarring. "Thanks for waking me up."

"No problem, just get back to your school work," the second to last thing of her to leave the room were her waggling fingers. The last was, "You have to do ALL you can to get into Har-Vard!"

Which left the dark-haired girl wondering if perhaps her mother _had_ been in her dream.

* * *

Cassiel opened her eyes, grinning. That little daydream should push Emily away from Missy and toward Ash.

The introduced thought certainly took ready hold and looked it would take root without additional prompting. Considering the flavor of the first one she had spied on, maybe she should even arrange a dream where Ash was wearing Emily's collar and leash. Yet she would have to wait a bit on _that_ bit of dream wrangling. Mortals could balk if the nature of a dream was too far from their normal personality. If Ash started suspecting someone was influencing her dreams, it would not be long before Rumisiel or Vashiel would get suspicious as well, and once so alerted, catch her at this.

This was simply too much fun to have to cut and run now.

In any case, Emily was very awake now. She would not be drifting off anytime soon, and too many nudges in that direction could also raise alarms. Besides, that mother of hers was now on guard to prevent furher napping, so a change of targets was in order. Unfortunately the hated angel-stealing redhead and the little oriental tramp were both so busy working on one of those car things she doubted either of them would be sleeping or even succumbing to a nudge anytime soon, and she definitely need to tread lightly when dealing directly with Rumisiel's pet mortal.

Time to try doing some more research then.

Cassiel did not have direct access to the Celestial Bureaucracy's files the way Rumisiel used to, but she was able to request information on her angelic tricorder. From there, it had only taken a physical visit to a mortal library to borrow an internet computer and look things up further.

She paused at a close up of Ash's mom, clad only in two scraps of lace. She was aware the older woman was involved in a modeling company, but she never expected _this_. "Total MILF," Cassiel purred to herself. Angelics, not being male or female in the strictly mortal senses of the terms, had no moral taboos against 'same gender' intimacies. In fact angels came in more than only two genders like humans. Myths, especially the Greco ones, were full of more truth than modern humans knew. At one point prior to the Flood, half-breed nephilim almost numbered as many as humans and some of the more infamous of the product of both-female human/angelic pairings. Boy, did _that_ raise some eyebrows back then. Immaculate conceptions indeed! That bit of widespread angelic insanity, and the longer-lasting intersexuality issues still rippling throughout humanity, were the reasons for the current state of Heavenly Piety and Chasteness Prohibitions.

Still, she was beginning to get an inkling why the angelic brothers were taking such an interest in this mortal's family..., "I wonder if Rumisiel is scoring himself some mother/daughter action..."

* * *

The Monster was being held up into the air, four jackstands holding the car up securely so Ash and Missi could work, adjusting its suspension. The former boy wriggled on the concrete floor of the garage, trying to get a slightly better angle. "Could you hand me the other wrench?"

She only had one crawler, and was letting Missi use it. Like a proper gentleman should.

"Sure," said Missi. "Just tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you." A variety of tools laid out onher stomach, she scooted the rolling platform she was laying on closer to Ash, handing the older girl the tool.

"Um, thanks," Ash said, taking the wrench placed in her hand. She tried to ignore the way the other girl -the all-too-willing to kiss-a-girl girl- pressed close to her.

This became even harder to do when she felt Missi rest a hand lightly on Ash's stomach, just under her breasts.

"Ash?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever though about...," Missi flushed. "I mean... I noticed you have pneumatic shock absorbers. Have you though about changing over to hydropneumatic?"

"Well, it's an expensive change," said Ash. "I don't know if it would really be worth it, plus I'd have to get some specialty tools."

"Well, with mountain racing, it can be a real plus," said Missi. "Help you get over the rough patches, and over any pot holes."

"I'll think about it. See what Emily says," Ash said absently. "She's the numbers girl, she can tell me if the numbers back you up."

"Oh...," Missi tried to hide her disappointment, mentally kicking herself. She was the one who had chickened out from what she wanted to ask, after all.

"Missi? Could you go get me a soda?"

"Sure!" Missi scooted out, standing up, heading into the kitchen. She would probably have felt better if she knew Ash's eyes were glued to her backside as she walked out, less if she could have heard what Ash was thinking.

_~Here I've been turned into one, and I'll STILL never understand girls!~_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Disaster on the Horizon  
Author: NoDrogs and LoveRobin  
Special thanks to LoveRobin for co-authoring this chapter with me.

Ash shifted gears. Before the misfile, racing had been the one thing he knew he had been good at. After the misfile, the fact that she was still good at it let her know that, whatever else had changed, she was still Ash... still King of the Mountain.

"Faster!"

She glanced to the passenger seat, where Missi was leaning forward eagerly. If Ash had been racing against somebody, the front passenger seat would have been removed, as would have everything else she felt she did not need while racing. This run was strictly for fun.

"Hold on," the former boy grinned, pushing down on the gas pedal. The Merkur XR4Ti responded with a powerful growl, the turbo kicking in as the RPMs spiked.

The Chinese girl squealed in excitement as the powerful car shot forward due to a combination of horsepower and gravity. The next turn was to the right, Ash's toes stomping down on the brake then tilting as her heel mashed the gas.

The result of the driver's skill was the Merkur shot out of the turn much faster than the average driver would have believed possible. Ash handled the course as if she had driven it a million times before... which she had, at least in her head. She knew every contour, every inch, every feature and fault of this road. Her road.

"Ash, pull over!" the younger girl cried, urgently, breathy.

Ash obeyed, slowing the Merkur until she could pull it off to the side of the road. "What's wrong?" Ash asked, turning her head as the passenger hastily unbuckled her seatbelt. Instead of answering verbally, Missi climbed over the center console, until she was straddling Ash's lap. Arms around her neck, she kissed the older girl hungrily. "I am SO turned out right now..." the Chinese girl said, breaking the kiss, crossing her arms to tug at her top's lower hem.

"You two are doing it all wrong."

Ash and Missi looked in surprise. Emily was now sat in the front passenger seat, staring at them.

"What do you mean, wrong?" Missi demanded angrily.

"You two think cars equak dating," said Emily. "Don't you two ever want to do something romantic?"

"Cars aren't romantic enough for you?" snapped Missi.

"Hey, I like cars just fine," said Emily. "I just don't think they're very romantic."

"What would you consider romantic?" Ash asked.

"This," Emily waved her right arm with a flourish.

Ash looked around. The three of them were still sitting in a car, as they had been a moment ago. Everything else had changed, including the vehicle. The controls were old, primitive. The speedometer hardly even got into the high two digits. Instead of on a mountain road, they were in the hold of a ship.

"Holy crap!" spluttered Missi with excitement. "This is a Model T!"

"Well, yes...," Emily nodded. She stepped out of the car, now dressed in a long, light purple dress. "Vintage is always romantic, but the real romance is upstairs. "

Missi opened the driver's side door, sliding off of Ash's lap. The redhead now realized that both of them were wearing gowns as well. Missi's dress was white, while Ash's was bright red. "Why am I wearing a dress?" she demanded, as she climbing out after the other girl.

"It's not romantic if you're not willing to dress up," said Emily matter of factly, with a knowing grin.

Ash stared down at herself. "But a DRESS?" she complained. She could count the number of dresses she had worn before on one hand. On two fingers for that matter.

"Oh, come on!" Emily grabbed the other two girls by their arms, pulling toward a doorway. "Don't complain for once... for me. Just... stop thinking, and go with the flow!"

They stepped out of the hold to find themselves in an elegant ballroom, which had to have been on the first or second levels. Couples, dressed in old fashioned formal suits and dresses, moved back and forth as a live orchestra played. No one seemed to find anything unusual about three young women stepping into the ballroom directly from a storage room, not even the girls themselves.

"Let's dance!" Emily crowed, turning and grabbing Ash by the hand.

"I don't know how to dance to this!"

"Will you relax? It's easy! Just put your left arm around my waist, and keep your right hand in my left," the long-haired girl explained. "Then, follow my movements."

Hesitantly, Ash followed, trying to copy Emily moves. Somehow, it was easier than she expected.

"Hey! I want to dance too!" said Missi, trying to cut in. After a few insistent moments, the other two opened up, enfolding the third girl, left arms about waists, right hands shifting to shoulders. An appreciative murmur rose from nearby couples flowing about them to the music.

Just then, the entire floor shuddered, as if a giant had grabbed the ballroom and shaken.

"What was that?" Ash demanded, looking around. Some of the other dancers had also stopped to look about, but the orchestra continued playing.

"It's my turn to dance alone with Ash!" insisted Missi.

"Wait a moment...," Ash stared. At one end of the ball room was a large, elegant stairway. A shiny glass and brass clock was set on a pillar at the bottom of the stairs. She grabbed Missi's and Emily's hands and guided them over to the clock, staring at the text there. "HMS... Titanic? We're on the TITANIC?"

"It's a very romantic movie!" insisted Emily.

"It's a movie about a ship that got sunk by an iceberg!"

"Come on, let's dance!" said Missi. The other couples had all resumed dancing, and she did not wish to miss her chance to dance with Ash alone. Emily had already had her chance, and now Missi wanted hers.

"No! We've got to get to the lifeboats!" Ash franticly began heading up the stairs, even though she had no idea where on the ship the lifeboats would be. Her two friends followed. At the top of the staircase was a set of ornate wooden doors. Ash grabbed the handles and threw open the doors to see a giant wall of water rushing toward them. She took a deep breath just as the water was about to hit, trying to position herself to shield Emily and Missi from the onslaught.

* * *

Ash jerked upright in her bed. "NOT a guy dream," she said, looking about the room. She took a moment to make sure she was indeed in her bedroom and wearing her normal sleep shorts and shirt, instead of a red ball gown. She stifled an urge to check to make sure her beloved Ford Merkur had not in reality morphed into a Model T.

Finally, her heart stopped racing. She laid back, part of her wondering what the dream signified. It was several minutes before she could convince herself to fall back asleep.

* * *

Emily blinked her eyes open. She had never thought of herself as a big dreamer, but this was two nights in a row she had awoken up from a vivid dream... three, if you counted her nap during homework that afternoon. At least this one had been nice, if you could ignore the possible threat of immanent drowning. Anyway, it had been fun dancing with dream-Ash, even if dream-Missi had been there. Actually, the three way dance had not been all that objectionable. As a trio they had virtually flowed across the floor.

She closed her eyes, dropping back to sleep, hoping to find herself on some other dance floor... with Ash.

Without Missi.

* * *

Missi pouted. She figured it was only a matter of time before she was back to dating with Ash, and part of her suspected it was Emily keeping the two of them apart. It did not seem fair for that girl to be separating them in her own dreams as well. Well, at least the dream was not as sexually charged as last night's, featuring Emily alone, had been.

_~Which had to have been a fluke.~_ She wondered what her subconscious was trying to tell her about her rival. Surely it could not be to share Ash with her, could it?

Laying back down, she nibbled her lips. Ash did want her and Emily to be nice toward each other or else.

Could a three-way relationship be the 'or else'? Could she accept that if it meant regaining Ash's love? Could she deal with Emily to that degree?

Of course, before she had met Ash, the Chinese girl had never even considered being a lesbian. After meeting Ash, she had embraced the idea fully and without reservation. Ash had been the first person to make Missi feel sexually attractive, to actually care about her. The first person to care for who she was without trying to use her. Missi's family, both whomever her genetic parents had been, and her adopted family, certainly did not.

It felt like she and Ash were Fated to be together.

Missi's last thought as she drifted off was, _~What if the price of Fate includes Emily?~  
_

* * *

Cassiel opened her eyes, finding herself humming the music the band had been playing. She wondered what would have happened if Ash had stayed on the dance floor. Being only one of four in the dream link, Cassiel only had limited control of the direction things took. She chose to use that control to subtly influence the dreams, rather than trying to make major changes. By being subtle, it was less likely anyone would detect her presence.

This was the first time, though, that one of the girls had changed the actual setting mid-dream. Things had started in a setting probably chosen by Missi, considering how hot she had gotten with it, then had jumped to where Emily wanted. That one bore watching. Lucid control by a dreamer was a powerful thing, and if the studious girl realized she had the power, things could easily turn against the angel.

It was also the first time the angel had found herself pulled in as a person in the dream, instead of just a bodiless observer. Fortunately, she had been drafted as one of several dancers, and none of the three principle girls seemed to have spotted her.

She stood up and stretched, then froze mid-stretch. Cassiel looked down at herself. She had fallen 'asleep' in a tight fitting miniskirt and top. As an angel, she could choose whether or not to let the elements, such as heat or cold, affect her. Now, she was dressed in a light yellow ball gown, the same dress she had been wearing in the dream.

It took her a moment to realize what must have happened. Cassiel had the ability to not only change her own appearance, but the appearance of her clothing. Somehow, while dreaming, she must have used this ability to transform her outfit. She would just have to be more careful, in the future, about what happened in the dreams. The thought of stopping never even crossed her mind; like many things Cassiel did, once she started, she did not question her motives for continuing.

She also did not question if the gown was of her doing, or the Lucid Dreamer's. The idea of a mortal affecting an angelic was too ludicrous to her as to even cross her mind for dismissal.

Besides, Cassiel had other things on her mind.

Having learned the previous day that Ash's mother was more interesting than as originally dismissed, Cassiel had then turned her attention to the father. The mortal internet offered up modest information on him... _~My! What a cutie!~_ ...mainly that he was a doctor. A 'gynecologist' specializing in 'gynecology'.

With a smirk, Cassiel -in human form- strode away, not even bothering to log off her session. Whatever 'logs' had to do with the internet, much less whether one was 'on' or 'off' them, made no sense to her, nor did she truly care. She had learned what she wanted to know.

The bulk of the coming debacle could have been circumvented had she not had a firm knowledge of ancient languages and had instead queried deeper about the charming Doctor Upton. As it was, her 'command of tongues' was to be her undoing.

'Gynecology' was only an inflection away from _'gynæcology'_, which was obviously derived from the ancient Greek _gynaikeios_, 'womanly'. Furthermore the roots certainly broke down to _gynē_, or 'woman', and _logia_, or 'study'; and she was intimately familiar with the sort of carnal men who historically made a hobby of studying women...

_~So,~_ she had thought with amusement, _~he is a purveyor of feminine flesh, eh? The more I learn about this family, the more I understand Rumisiel's carnal interests in them. That piece of mortal trash didn't get all of her looks from her mother alone! I think maybe I should pay him a visit. In the flesh, so to speak. Give the mortal lecher the thrill of the perfection of an angel-made embodiment. ~_

_~Maybe even seduce him. ~  
_  
That last had elevated her amusement to outright glee as she imagined how horrified the Ash-trash would be to find out she was not only not the only one with an angelic lover, but that her father was sticking it to a girl her own apparent age. With the patriarch of the household under her enthrallment, she could be as open as she wanted with her interactions with the daughter, and neither of the angel brothers could dare object or counter his word.

_~Perfect!~  
_  
So it was with those thoughts in mind, this morning found Cassiel floating above the Doctor's office. When a woman drove up it took the simplest series of nudges to have her cancel her appointment and leave.

Restoring her terrestrial human form, this time taking a few extra seconds to ensure she was not only completely anatomically correct, but humanly perfect, Cassiel entered, a small chime sounding as the door opened and closed.

Which was when she got her first surprise.

"Wha... what are you doing here, Cassiel?"

She paused so briefly only angelic senses could take note. Vashiel, whom she had been taking pains to avoid, sat behind the welcoming counter. Before a human, had any been in the room, might have noticed, she had regained her balance. "Why, Vashiel, how the mighty have fallen, working as a receptionist in a doctor's office. I'm here for the doctor to gaze upon me!"

Vashiel's surprise lasted longer, but his eyes narrowed. "You do not have a proper appointment."

Gesturing at a small sign on the counter, she countered, "According to this, I have no need for one. It says here I'm welcome to walk-in."

"So it does. What need have you of Dr Upton's services?"

"Why Vashiel, is there some reason why I shouldn't need to have a physical checking up?"

Suddenly the other embodied angel had a sudden insight. "Wait... Do you know what type of doctor Doctor Upton is?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" she responded, fists on hips. "He looks at women. I shall have him cast his gaze upon me."

"Good news, we have a sudden cancellation, so the doctor will see you now."

"Huh?" The sudden congeniality was unexpected.

"Please, go right in. You should not keep a doctor waiting, after all. I'll even fill in the forms for you. I know enough about you to provide all the requisite information a human office needs without revealing your true nature."

"Just what are you up to?"

"Why, just doing my job to help patients who want to see Doctor Upton. I shall be sure to let him know you want a thorough examination."

"Uhm..., thank you..."

"Examination room three. You'll find a gown. Strip and put it on, open side to the rear, and take your place on the table," he smiled. "Dr Upton will be in shortly."

"I must confess, I didn't think you'd be this accommodating," Cassiel stalked down the indicated corridor to the last of three doors, the first one closed. She could hear people talking but had no care to apply her sensitive and perfect ears to eavesdrop in. As foretold, she located the raised divan-like table with strange metal sculptures to one end, upon which the examination garment lay folded. It was only a matter of small angelic sleight of magic to literally pull, without tearing or damaging, her street clothing off her mortalized body. She tossed them on a convenient chair and easily slipped into the thin garment as Vashiel had directed.

It was about five minutes before the doctor swept in to find her reclined on the divan in a pose she knew to show off her curves. His smile was easy on the eyes. He referred to a folder he carried, "Welcome Ms Angelique."

"Cassi will be fine."

"Cassi then. As this is your first time visiting us, I have a few questions to ask to complete your history."

"Fire away."

"Please sit up. When was the last time you had a gynecological exam?"

Being quite the exhibitionist, especially around humans, the angel had never shied away from allowing her humaniform to be ogled and appreciated. Still, there was a rule about revealing anything extra-mundane to mortals, so she threw out a number while leaving off 'years', "A hundred twenty five."

"Days?"

"Longer, I'm afraid."

"Weeks then. Little more than two years," he marked in the folder with a stylus. "When was your last Pap?"

"M'what?" she blinked. The term was unfamiliar to her.

He looked up, taking in her vacant look, "Pap smear?"

"Uhm...?"

"That sounds like 'never'," he smiled disarmingly.

"That sounds correct," Cassiel slowly nodded.

"No problem, you're still young. Since you're new as a patient, we'll do one today. Now then, are you on any hormones?"

A bit put off by the clinical approach the man had, she made an open armed present and shimmy, "Only what the Good Lord gave this body!"

"And a fine one it is too," he smiled easily once again, adding a wink, which served to set her concerns at ease. Cassiel had seen the results of lecherous but overly clinical men before. The name Marquis de Sade leapt immediately to mind. Even by the average standards of angels, his work had been hard to stomach. Many in Heaven were quite concerned that Lucifer scooped him up upon the Marquis' terrestrial divestment. Thus men who study women in too clinical a fashion was a red flag.

"And you're far too young for menopausal concerns. When was you last period?"

"I, uh, lost track." Easy to do when only creating temporary flesh. Even if she made a habit of whipping up anatomically complete ones like she did for that afternoon, the way she shed and donned it, maybe it saw a full week's worth of use in the past quarter decade.

"See, that's not a smart thing to do," Dr Upton tsked in her direction, waving the stylus like an accusatory wand. "You teens think just because you're young and seemingly healthy, that it's okay to ignore a smart regimen of preventive examinations."

"I never really give this body much thought..."

"And that's what I'm talking about," he placed the papers to the side, reaching for some gloves. "What say I take a look at you now?"

_~Finally! Time to give the mortal the thrill of feminine perfection.~_ Cassiel started to divest herself of the backwards robe.

"Lay back and scoot your tush to the edge of the table."

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Come on, you know, so I can get a good look see."

_~Well, it's your peep show, mister!~_ The fleshly angel did as directed, but with her legs hanging over the edge it was hardly comfortable. Which was when she took notice of the two metal devices and realized the design was to act as props. With the newly acquired intuition, her feet found the stirrups. With her legs spread wide, revealing the source of her body's femininity, she was both assuaged and alarmed. The former because it confirmed the man was interested in her body in the most carnal of fashions, the latter because it also reminded her of equipment found not only in de Sade's 'playrooms', but of the many devices dreamed up by Inquisitors during their sado-hedonistic pursuits masquerading as a Holy Cleansing. The Bastards. The lines leading to her Uncle Lucifer's door was never as long as when their mortal days were up.

Still, the lack of binding straps was a positive sign.

As was his pulling a stool over so he could take a 'front row' seat for his viewing pleasure. With a confident smile she laid back, calmly answering his innocuous questions and ignoring a running commentary as he began to prod and manipulate her lower abdominal area. It was quite arousing in fact, and when the man began opening her folds, well, things were going exactly as she expected. Opening her like petals of a blossom, he pinched and prodded. When he worked around the clitoral hood and nub, Cassiel was getting quite into things, feeling herself lubricate in a fashion she last experienced during her carnal exploits with Rumisiel and their sexual role-play as humans.

Dr Upton though was quite good, his touch highly skilled. When he started to actively probe first her pussy with a finger, and then a rather advanced technique of bringing his second finger into play in her asshole at the same time, she knew she had him. The angel in fleshly form aimed a nudge of seduction at the animal part of his brain. Only...

Only there was a resistance. Lips quirked into a thin line as she tossed another nudge in his direction. This time she felt it definitely skid away from him. Which was when she also noticed him pulling over a cart with some metal items in which she could see the ancestry of Inquisition tools. He reached for one.

"Hey! What's that for? What're you doing?"

"Just relax, Cassi"

Fully panicked by the anomaly of his resisting seduction suggestions, Cassiel moved to roll off the divan. Only...

She couldn't move. Unfocusing her awareness past the mortal into the astral... which required a concentration akin to human sight needing to focus past something, like a hand, close to her face and upon things farther away... Cassiel finally discerned the doctor was wearing a cloak of protection. It was thin, as such things go, although easily proof against any sort of influence she could exert shy of what might kill the man, and of course there were rules about such actions without Heavenly sanctioning.

The next thing she noticed were the bands about her feet holding them to the stirrups, as well as her abdomen pinning her to the divan. Also thin, and with the same restrictive consequences as the cloak. The required power needed would level the building.

_~Vashiel!~_ Angels of Vengeance, although equipped with Divine Swords of Smiting, often as long as they stood tall, also had a few tricks up their sleeves of a more subtle nature. Not every Action of Vengeance required leveling cities with brimstone. Sometimes all was needed was to prevent a person from avoiding a rock or leaping clear of a saddle.

_Like now!_

Struggling against them, she found herself unable to move. Both physically _in_ the flesh, and astrally _from_ the flesh.

Of course, what seemed like a long time to an angel on the astral planes, was but seconds in the human realm. By the time Cassiel's attention snapped back, the hated Ash's father had just laid his hand on the metal object he had reached for. "Wait... what is that? Where are you sticking that thing?"

The way he held it, and how his gaze never really left her loins, the phallic shape was readily obvious. "Just relax, miss." Cold metal... _Eeeep!_ ...pushed into her, then began to ratchet wider, opening her insides to the full view of the mortal.

She screamed. Only...

Only now there was an astral band about her neck as well, keeping her embodiment from making so much as a squeak. It did not, however, choke off her angelic astral voice.

_~~~VASHIEL!~~~  
_  
At his desk in the reception area, the Angel of Vengeance was busy stuffing more tissues, which he always kept at hand, up his embodiment's nostrils to soak up the latest of his Pious Nosebleeds. He grinned.

_~Best. Vengeance. EVER!~_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Thanks to LoveRobin for editing support. All mistakes are my responsibility. _

_

* * *

_Cassiel sulked in her pocket dimension. At the moment, she didn't know who she hated more... Dr. Upton or Vashiel. Even worse than the physical humiliation was the fact she, the niece of Lucifer, had been deceived by an Angel sworn to only tell the truth. Vashiel could say he had only told the literal truth, giving her what she thought she wanted. He had even asked if she knew what she was getting into and she had brushed aside the question, so even if she was ready to make known her humiliation she was fairly certain he was iron-clad protected. After all, he had made his unhappiness with her presence in the area known.

She had to begrudgingly give the angel his props. Binding her to her fleshly embodiment and then to the torture table was a touch of subtly she had to respect. She would have to keep it in mind to try someday, preferabbly against Rumisiel or someone he cared about. She even wondered briefly if he had done something to her that time she posed as a catering wench; the way she been forced to stay nearly all night to finish washing dishes without being able to slip away from the human woman to dematerialize... in hindsight it smelled of Vengeance Angel trickery. However it was too late to prove if Vashiel had indeed bound or geased her that night.

Unfortunately, regardless of which one she hated worse, she couldn't act against either of them. Even in his sealed and limited form while on Earth, Vashiel was simply too strong, and was still protecting Dr. Upton.

However, he had apparently left the majority of the protection of Dr. Upton's daughter to Rumisiel.

Cassiel took a deep, completely humanly unnecessary breath as she tried to center herself. Ash... yes, _Ash_ was the _true_ target of her wrath. The piece of mortal dirt had stolen Rumisiel from her, and she would never have even been in Dr. Upton's office in the first place if it not for that girl. So the full blame rested on her mortal shoulders.

The vindictive angelic stared down. The floor of the house which her pocket dimension took the form of appeared to be a perfectly clear layer of glass with clouds billowing underneath. As she concentrated, the clouds thinned to her astral sight to reveal Tempest High. _That Girl_ was in school right now.

With Rumisiel. Rumisiel wouldn't hesitate to call for his big brother if he caught Cassiel nearby. So, she would have to wait for a chance for her own brand of vengeance. Well, she could wait... and plan.

* * *

Ash was walking home, enjoying the solitude. Rumisiel had eagerly teleported home when she gave him permission, which was not often. Usually she insisted he suffer the same tedious and mundane routine as any normal human, but this afternoon she had wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Emily had offered her a ride, but she refused. Part of it was she needed the time to think without having either Emily or Missi around.

The other part was... as much as Ash did not wish to admit it... she was starting to become used to her misfiled body and, female or no, wanted to take care of it. After all, it was her body regardless of the gender and, according to her mother, with her boyish eating habits she needed these walks to keep from adding unwanted inches to her hips.

"ASH UPTON."

Ash turned in surprise. She had thought herself alone but, standing behind Ash, there was now a figure, now visible, clad in black armor. The being carried no shield, but in the figure's right hand was a leather whip, its short length imbedded with wicked-looking metal studs. The glove on the figure's left hand was oddly articulated, the fingers of the metal gauntlet shaped into long, hooking claws which extended several inches past where a person's normal finger tips should be.

"Who are you supposed to be, the black knight?" Ash asked, strangely calm.

The figure suddenly moved far faster than the redhead would have believed possible, considering the mysterious figure was encumbered within the dark armor. The left hand came slashing downward, and she scrambled to dodge. The slash was a feint, however. The goad came whistling down, cutting through denim jeans to leave painful and bloody welts on Ash's leg underneath.

The former boy gasped, collapsing on the ground. She tried to struggle to her feet as the mysterious figure raised the whip again.

"STOP THAT!"

Missi appeared, charging at the dark figure. The knight turned, startled, as the small girl barreled into the person attacking her beloved Ash. The armored attacker staggered backwards, knocked off balance by the unexpected charge. An inhuman growl came from the helmet.

"Run, Ash!" Missi cried with no concern for her own safety.

The figure reached down with left gauntlet, digging the claws into the small of the small girl's back

Missi cried out in pain, tears forming in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that!"

Both girl and attacking figure turned to look. Ash had grabbed a branch, using it as a cane to get to her feet. Now she gripped it, like a baseball bat, and swung as herd as she could at the dark knight. The branch cracked with a retort like a gunshot as it smashed into the armored chest, splinters flying. The figure stumbled, sprawling back, hooked claws tearing off Missi's shirt, leaving her in just push-up bra and jeans with whale-tailed thong.

Ash stepped forward, placing herself firmly between the figure and the Chinese girl. She firmly held onto the remaining portion of the branch, obviously prepared to swing again.

The figure scrambled upright, stepping back. It held the clawed left gauntlet up in the air and began chanting. Like in a video game, electricity arched over the fingers of the metal glove as a glowing white ball of energy began to form in the palm.

"Missi?" Ash asked, nervously. With her leg injured, she didn't think there was any way she could escape from whatever the frightening figure had in mind, but she wanted the younger girl to get clear if possible.

Inside the black armor, Cassiel grinned, smelling the sharp tang of ozone as she summoned more and more power to flow into the ball, letting it grow in size. "Any last words?" she asked, the helmet garbling her voice, adding a deep timbre to a point where the mortal trash had no earthly hope of recognizing it.

Ash opened her mouth to answer.

_*HOOOOOONNK!* _

Cassiel turned in shock, just in time for the nose of Emily's Nissan 240SX to slam into her and send the armored angelic girl flying. Loosed from her grasp, the ball of plasma went flying without direction or purpose, only to burst like a watermelon at a Gallagher comedy special at the shoulder of the road, scorching a circular patch of grass. She groaned as she hit the ground heavily. A human woman subject to that kind of impact would have had at least one broken bone and possibly enough internal injuries to ensure her death, but not her. Nothing mortal-made could kill an angelic. Thus Cassiel's embodiment might be immune from any long-term debilitating effects from those sorts of injuries...

...but she could still feel pain.

Emily reached over as far as she could in the seatbelt, unlocking and pushing the front passenger door open. "Get in! Get in!"

Missi scampered to Ash's wounded side, helping to prop the older girl as they hurried into the car. The two of them squeezed into the front passenger seat and Missi pulled the door closed. Emily floored the gas, twisting the wheel into a tight turn.

Kicked up gravel sprayed the mysterious armored attacker as the car raced off.

"Oh, no you don't!" snarled Cassiel. "NO ONE gets away from me that easily. Pikachu, I choose you!"

A thunderous roar filled the air as a large black-scaled dragon, with red and yellow flames dancing along the edges of its monstrous bat-like wings, appeared next to the angel. She climbed onto its sinuous neck, pointing at the fleeing Nissan.

_"__Sic 'em!"  
_  
The astral dragon ran forward several steps, wings beating franticly. It was not used to the thicker-than-æther medium of air, so it took a bit to get the needed feel to launch. Yet launch it did. leaping up, fore and rear legs tucked against side and belly as the wings pumped, propelling both dragon and rider into the sky.

"Oh gods... a _dragon_ is chasing us!" moaned Emily.

"I know! Isn't it RAD?" Missi enthused.

"I see it...," said Ash, craning her neck to see more. "What is going on?"

"I don't know...," said Emily. "Wait... Ash, check the glove box."

Ash reached, opening the glove box. Much to her surprise, a pistol nearly fell into her hand.

Missi's hand shot out, snatching the gleaming weapon. Expertly she dropped the magazine to check the ammo count, half pulled the slide to inspect the chamber, nodding approval upon seeing it empty. Reinserting the magazine, she carefully pulled on the slide to advance the first cartridge and cocked it. "A 9mm Springfield Armory EMP Enhanced Micro Pistol, " Missi read the inscription on the slide. "Nice weight. Good choice."

"You don't really think it can hurt a dragon, do you?" Ash was less incredulous than she thought she would be under the circumstances. After facing beingq boy trapped in a girl's body, angels, ghostly possessions, and Dark Id projections... being in a car chased by a Black Knight riding a flaming dragon was pretty much par for the course these days.

"One way to find out..." Missi declared. She wriggled to get some more room, apologizing with her eyes as Ash winced in pain, and rolled down the window. "Hold on to my legs."

Before she could protest, Missi was sitting sideways in her lap, head and arms outside the window. With a two handed grip on the pistol, the Chinese girl took careful aim at the flying creature's chest.

Pikachu growled, head pulling back as the bullets stung it. As massive as it was, the bullets couldn't penetrate its scales, but that did not mean being shot was a pleasant experience. It opened its mouth wide, sucking in air.

"Swerve! Swerve!" ordered Missi, switching to a one handed grip on the pistol so she could pound on the car roof with the other hand. Emily spun the wheel again, stomping down on the brake to cut speed and mashing the gas pedal to restabilize, just as Ash had taught her.

The dragon exhaled, breathing out a long blast of orange-red flames which barely missed the three girls in the speeding car. Missi took aim at the animal's open mouth, firing three rapid shots.

All three missed but Cassiel pressed her knee into the side of Pikachu's neck, commanding her mount to side-slip. Although an animal born in the depths of the æstral plane, it was not an angelic lifeform. So unlike angels, when transitioned to the material realms, mortal weaponry could inflict serious harm. If a bullet DID manage to find its way into the dragon's open mouth, it could almost certainly die, either from damage to its brain or setting off an internal-explosion inside its combustion bladder.

Cassiel clicked her tongue, using leg nudges to guide the dragon into flying to the left of the car, instead of behind it, and farther away from the armed girl hanging out the right side. She held out her left arm, sighting along the back of the gauntlet.

Power began to build anew.

"Floor it!" Ash ordered. Instead, much to her surprise, Emily hit the brake, slowing the car to a stop.

"What are you doing?" Ash demanded.

Emily stared over the steering wheel for a moment, before turning wondering eyes to her best friend. "Ash... I don't keep a gun in my car," she said slowly. "My mom would freak out."

"So where did this come from?" Missi demanded, twisting to try another shot at dragon and rider.

Emily did not answer. Not with words. Instead, she closed her eyes and began humming under her breath.

Up above, Cassiel grinned inside the armor. At this range she and her mount were too small a target for the little girl to hit, Pikachu's iridescent scales could shrug off the bullets, and there was no way she could miss a no-longer moving target. She chanted, completing her power summoning, preparing to fire a second plasma ball.

So intent was Cassiel on her target that she failed to notice a huge shadow cast across her until she head a loud, angry cry. A fiery bird, easily the size of a 747, seemed to come flying straight out of the sun, talons seemingly aimed straight at her. Flames flickered across its body as feathers would a terrestrial bird. Startled, Cassiel instinctively twisted about, releasing the half-formed plasma bolt, striking the bird's chest.

The plasma bolt didn't seemed to affect the bird at all. Instead, it brought its wings forward, slamming them into Pikachu's head.

The dragon roared in confusion, then tried to grab its attacker with its fore-claws. Cassiel screamed at her mount, but it ignored her, too intent on battling with the flaming bird.

"Where hell did that come from?" Missi asked, eyes wide in awe.

"The same place the gun did!" said Emily, opening her eyes with a broad smile.

"What do you mean?" Ash demanded.

"Ash... It's a dream!"

"But...," the former boy turned her head and stared at her leg. The jeans were still shredded, but now the skin underneath was whole and untouched.

"A dream?" Missi echoed, then grinned wickedly. "Oh well, if this's alla dream...!" She dropped the 9mm, reached behind her back and pulled out a gleaming hand cannon

"What the hell is that?" Ash cried.

"A .50 Caliber Thunder BMG," she intoned, "Only two prototypes ever built, never went into production...," she cocked the weapon, taking aim.

"There's no way you can fire that!" objected Emily. "The recoil'll..."

"Hey, it's my dream!" Missi grinned and fired.

Pikachu screamed in pain, blood fountaining suddenly from its chest. With each pump of its powerful wings, more blood gushed forth.

"Because of the size of the shell... 'shell', mind you, not 'bullet'... it can chamber only one shot at a time...," noticeably not having reloaded, she fired again, "...in the real world that is!"

Hit twice, Pikachu wheeled away, forgetting both rider and phoenix, seeking escape.

Cassiel glared at the car as it dwindled away. Of course she had no need of a dragon to fly, but a pistol which could punch through dragon scale could also punch through armor, and she had already received proof in this dream that she could feel pain. In addition, the trio were demonstrating too much control over this dream for Cassiel to risk further confrontation.

Vengeance would have to wait for another night.

"Emily, you're brilliant!" Ash said, turning to face Emily.

_~What the hell... it's a dream, right?~_ Emily thought as she reached forward, grabbing Ash's shirt. Before the redhead could stop, or even think about stopping her, Emily pulled her close and kissed her.

Hard, and deeply.

"Hey!" Missi objected. "I've still got a gun, you know."

Emily's free hand lifted up, flashing a middle finger at the younger girl, as she continued kissing Ash.

Missi wriggled. She would not really shoot the other... and she had to admit the sight of two girls kissing in front of her was kind of hot, even if it was Emily kissing _her_ Ash. "Hey, where's my kiss?" she demanded. "I did shoot the dragon, you know."

Emily broke from the kiss, letting go of the former boy's shirt. "Oh, fine," she said. Much to the surprise of both the other girls, she placed her hands on the either side of the Chinese girl's face...

...and kissed her.

* * *

"Arggh!" Missi yelled, jerking awake. She looked around her room, then tried to wipe her lips off with her arm.

The dominatrix dream had been weird enough, but this was Emily kissing her in front of Ash! What if Ash thought Missi preferred the long-haired girl over her? Knowing the redhead, she would refuse to get in the way of what she would perceive as Emily's and her happiness... when it was Ash alone which she wanted.

_~Calm down,~_ she told herself. _~It's just a dream. Just another of those weird dreams.~_

_~Yeah...~_

Emily blinked, looking around in confusion. Why would kissing MISSI be what woke her from the dream, when the earlier incidents had not?

"Well...," she assured herself. "At least that's one way of shutting up the hyper-active tramp."

She laid back. Then smiled.

She had saved Ash! Ok, it was Dream-Ash, and Dream-Missi had helped... some... but she had totally been a hero!

Still smiling, she slipped back into sleep.

* * *

Ash groaned, burying her face in the pillow. "I was SUCH a girl!" she moaned. "I can't even be the guy in my own dreams!"

* * *

Cassiel opened her eyes with a start. Had she been sleeping on a mortal bed, the black armor she found herself wearing would no doubt have damaged it. Instead, the construct was as resilient as cloud-stuff. With a mental huff, she morphed the metal into a black silk nightgown, which not only felt immediately better but hugged her curves reassuringly.

She had meant for the dream to only be between her and Ash. In the dream world, she could take all the vengeance she wanted and neither Vashiel nor Rumisiel would have been the wiser. Somehow, though, the dream link between the three -Ash, Emily, and Missi- had been active. The three, working subconsciously, had managed to wrest control of the dream away from her.

Her vengeance and schemes for the moment thwarted, Cassiel reacted the best way she knew how.

Drumming hands and feet into the bedding, she indulged herself in a good old fashioned temper-tantrum.

"It's not fair, it's _not fair,_ it's NOT FAIR!"


	5. Chapter 5

_Dance instructions from: www wikiow com/Dance. Special thanks to LoveRobin for editinging my rough draft._

Rumisiel yawned. "What are we doing going to school so early?"

"I want to stop by the library to check to see if I can find a book," Ash said.

"It's a library, of course you can find a book there," Rumisiel shrugged, still only half awake. One of the vices he enjoyed about being Embodied on Earth, at least one of the ones the misfiled boy still allowed him to indulge, was sleep, and here it was this morning being cut short

"A specific book. One about being awake in a dream."

"Um... I thought humans had to be asleep to dream?"

"I mean, being in a dream but being AWARE it's a dream. Wait, can angels dream while awake?"

"Well, some angels can meditate and enter mortal dreams. A few can even bring other beings along," the disbarred angel replied. "It's something that used to be done as a way to send messages to mortals. "

"Oh, like that movie _Inception."_

"Sort of," he nodded. "Man, that was a confusing movie. Special effects were good, though."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you'd actually paid attention to the movie, instead of kept staring at that girl's chest behind us."

"Hey! It takes skill to stare at a girl who's sitting _behind you_ without her calling the cops."

"And that's something you're proud of?"

* * *

"Hey, Ash?"

"Oh, hi Emily," Ash said, looking up from the lunch table. Rumisiel ignored them, busy enjoying his own lunch. Food was another vice he got to enjoy, and he had manage to charm one of the lunch ladies into giving him an extra helping of meatloaf.

Emily set her tray down to sit next to Ash. "I stopped by your house this morning, but your dad said you and Ru had left already."

"I wanted to get to the library and look up something."

"Hey, Ash... have you seen the posters for the upcoming dance?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, well... I never was really interested in dances when I was a boy, I'm certainly not going to dance with one as a girl," Ash took a bite of her meal.

"Well... girls do occasionally dance with other girls..." Emily started, trying to sound non-committal.

"Oh... yeah," said Ash, remembering the dream of the three of them dancing on the Titanic.

"So... um...," ~Come on, Em...~ she thought to herself. ~You danced with Dream-Ash, you can ask Real Ash to a dance... of course, you also danced with dream-M...~

"Hi!" Missi flopped down in an empty seat, plopping her tray down in front of herself. She was sitting katty-corner from Ash, with Rumisiel beside her and Emily opposite. "Are you going to the school dance, Ash?"

"We were just talking about that," Emily glared warningly.

"Great... I was thinking the two of us could go together!" Missi was ignoring her long-haired rival, keeping eyes focused only on Ash.

"Hey! If Ash is going with anyone, it's going to be me!" Emily stood, leaning forward to glare at the oriental girl.

"Hey, why you?" demanded Missi, standing up also.

"If Ash is going with someone to a dance, shouldn't it be me?" Rumisiel asked, then cowered as three angry pairs of eyes glared at him. Just because he could not be permenantly hurt did not mean he could not FEEL hurting. "I'll be quiet."

"Look, could you calm down?" asked Ash, aware of the fact that several people were starting to stare. The rumor mill did not need much meat to start grinding, and there were already whispers about Ash and the company she kept.

"No!" said Missi. "Not until you tell Emily that you're going to the dance with me."

"She's going with me," snapped Emily. "...as friends."

"Ha! You say you just want to be friends, but it's obvious that..."

Emily reacted, in the only way she knew to shut the smaller girl up. She grabbed Missi's shirt and pulled her close, kissing her.

"Whoooo!" the angel grinned. Sex was another of his vices. Of course it got him in over his head with Cassiel, but he still enjoyed watching hot stuff, which both girls definitely were.

"Shut up!" Emily said, breaking the kiss and blushing, glaring about at the people staring at them. She sat back down, crossing arms, face red.

Missi also sat down, looking stunned.

"Look, if you two want to go so much, why don't you two go together?" suggested Ash while trying to act as if she did not also enjoy the sight of two girls making out in front of her.

"No!" said Emily, hastily.

"No!" Missi was just as insistent. "It's _you_ I want to go to the dance with!"

"Hey, why don't we all four go together?" suggested Rumisiel.

"No one wants you around!" snapped Ash. She sighed at his crestfallen expression. Maybe she was being too hard on the angel, but every time she looked at him, she was reminded of the fact that it was his fault that she was now... well, a she. "If it means that much to you two, we three will go together. If you two can't agree to that, then I'm going to stay home, like I was planning to anyway."

"Ok," smiled Missi. It was hard to keep her down. "Now, what are we going to do for transportation?"

* * *

Pikachu whined.

Cassiel reached over to gently scritch the black-scaled dragon under the chin. It responded the way a cat would, stretching neck and subtly shifting head to get the scratching action to all the right spots. "Aww... did the mortal trash hurt you?" she cooed.

The pain had, of course, vanished as soon as the dream ended. However, as Cassiel had found out for herself, that did nothing about the memory of the pain. She would have to be careful if she brought the animal into another dream. Dragons were mortal, and she was not sure what would happen should Pikachu die in a dream. The biggest problem with entering a mortal's dreamscape was Cassiel was limited to what her conscious mind could produce, while the mortal had both conscious and subconscious to populate the dream. In order to have a dragon, Cassiel had been forced to draw Pikachu's mind into the link as well.

Pikachu had been a secret gift from her uncle sometime after his unsuccessful attempt to seize total power. His true name, of course, was not 'Pikachu'. That was just his use-name, which Cassiel changed when the whim struck her. True Names had power over beings from the Æther, so Pikachu's true name was a closely held secret. Their bond was such that Pikachu would have responded to complete gibberish as long as Cassiel wanted him to respond to it. She cared for the dragon, more then she cared for any person, mortal or angelic.

If they had managed to kill Pikachu... well, Cassiel was not completely sure what she would do. But it would definitely make a flaying from her scourge look like a day at the beach.

"Want to go flying, Pikachu? Out in the æther? Huh, buddy?"

Pikachu growled happily as she led him from his stall.

* * *

Ash laid back on the bed, the book she checked out from the library by her desk. "It's a dream. It's a dream. It's a dream." she repeated to herself as the book had suggested. Still mentally repeating the litany, she closed her eyes and waited for what dreams might come...

"DAMN IT!" she swore.

It was a dream. That much she knew, for in reality the only toy car she had in her room was the one scale model of her racer which Emily had given her, not the shelf-full she saw now. However the one thing she DID NOT want had carried over from reality.

She was still a girl.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Trying to put in practice some of the tips from the book, she concentrated on being a guy, trying to remember every detail of her old, prior, male body. After what seemed to be several long minutes, she cautiously cracked an eye open and looked downward. "FUCK!" she snapped, her body unchanged.

"Sure, now?"

Ash _yelped__,_ leaping in surprise. An action which, being in a dream, found herself floating several inches in the air. She had to make a conscious decision to sink back down. Turning she discovered Missi laying stretched out in her bed. Although fully clothed, or her version of the term, she was under the sheets. ~What is she doing here? I didn't dream her up... did I?~ the redhead blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Fuck," said Missi, sitting up. "I mean, you're already dressed for it." She reached down for her shirt. "Give me a minute and I'll join you."

"NO!" Ash snapped and concentrated. A pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt appeared on her body; at least she could dress herself as a boy.

"Tease," Missi complained, sticking out a tongue. "Well, if we're not going to fuck, what are we going to do?"

"According to the book... other people in dreams are figments of my subconscious," said Ash. "What do YOU think we should do?"

Missi smiled, and opened her mouth.

"NOT sex!" Ash interrupted, hastily.

"Well... could we go dancing again?" Missi asked with a slight pout.

"Ok... " said Ash. "But not on the Titanic."

"How about the coming dance?"

"How about right here?" Ash countered.

"Here is fine," Missi concentrated. The room expanded, walls moving apart, bed conspicuously still in the center. Music began playing as she got up, moving to press up close to the redhead, taking her hands.

Ash tried to move in time to the music, aware of the girl's young body pressing against hers.

"I've... only danced with Emily leading," admitted the former boy.

"It's easy."

Missi turned and glared at Emily, who was sitting cross legged on the bed. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Well, apparently, Ash needs some dance lessons," Emily replied without any of her usual passive venom. "First, listen to the music," She closed her eyes, listening and swaying to the beat. "One two three four... one two three four... one two three four..."

"One two three four...," repeated Ash, hearing the underlying rhythm of the music. Once she got the idea, it was just like listening for the timing of an engine.

"Ok... now start bobbing your head to the beat," Emily continued. "This is a little fast, so just bob up at one and three, then down on two and four. If it was slower, you'd want up and back down on each beat." She got up off the bed, moving her head to the beat.

"Headbanging?" Ash asked.

"No... this is just to get used to moving to the rhythm," Emily explained. Missi was likewise bobbing her head, matching to both Ash's movements and the music. Moving behind them, Emily put her hands on Ash's hips, pushing to the side gently. "Ok, on beat one shift your weight to your left foot, on beat three shift to your right. Not so stiff... bend your knees a little, so you bounce a bit. Like leaning into a curve... ."

Ash obeyed, finding it a little odd yet exciting to have Emily's hands resting on her hips, while holding hands with Missi.

"Move your hips a little more... almost put a bump into them, and add in your shoulders to the motion." Emily moved her hands up, placing them on Ash's shoulders. "Right shoulder forward when on your left foot, then left shoulder forward on your right... Keep your arms out. Ok, then just lose yourself to the music while you keep doing this."

"WHAT?" Ash demanded, trying to keep track of the music and movements she was supposed to do.

"It's like when you're driving," Emily said. "Just... let your body move. Don't over think it. The same way you feel your car, feel your body move."

Ash snorted. "Strange advice from you... you're the one who's always wanting numbers."

"Hey, this is dancing!" said Emily. "Music IS numerical... come on... you can do it."

"Yeah, come on!" said Missi, grinning widely. Emily's presence was a bit of a pain, but finally Ash was dancing with _her__, not Emily._

"Ok, ok... One two three four... one two three four... ."

"Good... now try it without counting. Missi, let Ash lead, ok?"

"Ok, ma'am... I mean, Emily."

* * *

Ash opened her eyes as the alarm clock rang. She had not reset the clock yet, so it was still set to wake her early. She got to her feet, glaring at the library book. "Fat lot of good you were!" she told it, then walked downstairs, humming... unaware she was humming the music from the previous night.

* * *

Missi woke up hugging herself happily. "Yay! I got to dance with Ash!" she cooed. Ok, so Emily had been there, but at least it was not a a funky three way dance! Ash had been paying attention to her!

That's all Missi really wanted; someone to care for her and pay attention just to her.

* * *

Emily woke up, shaking her head. "What a strange dream... I guess I'm worrying about the dance."

She walked downstairs, making a mental note to make sure Ash actually did know how to dance.

* * *

Cassiel whooped happily, knees and thighs tight against Pikachu's neck as she held her arms out, feeling the wind rushing by her. As an angel, she had her own wings and could fly under her own power. Yet there was something highly exhilarating to experience under the power of another. There was touch of both freedom and risk to give yourself over to another. Cassiel had no way of knowing, but it was the same for humans riding the handlebars of another's bicycle, having to ignore your own sense of balance, to give yourself over to another.

She could feel each time Pikachu's wings stroked through the air, his muscular body moving underneath hers; between and responsive to her legs. It was the same rush she felt during sex; an intense, carnal awareness of both her own body and someone else's. Plus, unlike former boyfriend Rumisiel, she knew Pikachu would never leave her.

"Ok... I think that's enough," she told her pet. She nudged with one knee, signaling the animal to barrel roll. As he did, she let herself fall away, spreading her wings, arresting her fall halfway to the ground. "Let's go home, Pikachu."

The dragon burbled happily, nostrils trailing smoke as it followed Cassiel back to its stall.


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, haven't been writing for awhile (new job, things have been hectic, blah blah blah) but the muse hit me last night and demanded I write. Very rough draft but, hopefully: Enjoy.

* * *

Cassial tapped her fingers, staring at a blank scroll. It had occurred to her that she might not be using her full angelic abilities. Taking a quill pen, she carefully wrote 'Dream Manipulation', then 'Angelic senses' and 'Flight'. After a moment, she added 'Teleportation'.  
Hmm, teleporting. Maybe she could find some way to teleport Ash and those other two girls into trouble. If she could find somewhere Ash wanted to go, but didn't belong, then whatever Ash got into wouldn't be directly Cassial's fault...

* * *

Ash blinked, staring at the door. 'Celestial Filing Depository' the door read, in bright gold script.  
"Where are we?" Missi asked. Ash turned, surprised. Emily and Missi were standing behind her; all three of them were dressed in white robes.  
"Shhh!" Ash said. Emily, more direct, simply grabbed the smaller girl and placed a hand over Missi's mouth.  
"Ash, I don't think we should be here." Emily said, talking softly.  
"I don't care." Ash said. She looked back at the door. "Emily... you know how much this means to me. This might be my only chance to fix the misfile."  
"Ok." Emily nodded. "I'm going with you."  
"Me too." Missi managed to say, around Emily's hand. She didn't know what was going on, but wasn't going to give Emily a chance to go with Ash alone.  
"All right, but be quiet." Emily ordered, then released Missi.  
The three women slipped through the door, looking around. The room inside was massive, easily the size of a football stadium, with filing cabinets laid out in narrow rows. Ash lead the way to a filing cabinet marked 'Humans, Women, U-Z'. There were only three files marked 'Upton, Ash'. She pulled all three out and flipped them open, looking for the one that was hers.  
The first two were obviously not; she closed them and put them back as soon as she saw the line reading 'Gender: Female'. The third read 'Gender: male'.  
"That's it." said Emily, unnecessarily.  
"I figured. Ok, all I have to do is put this back in the right cabinet and... wait a minute."  
Ash looked closer at the file, frowning. There was a white stain on the 'Gender' line, between 'Gender' and 'male'. It looked a bit like white-out. She reached out, scratching it with a fingernail. The white material flaked off, revealing the letters 'f' and 'e'.  
"Gender: FEMALE!" shrieked Ash, forgetting her earlier desire for stealth. "Wait, this was the misfile? I always was a girl!"

* * *

Ash sat upright in her bed, panting rapidly. For the first time in her life, she was glad to have woken up as a girl. What a horrible nightmare! It was a nightmare... right?  
"Rumisial! Rumisial, come here right now!"  
"What is it?" the angel asked, bursting in Ash's room. "Ash, what's wrong."  
"I just had the WORST nightmare of my life! I need you to tell me something, right now!"  
"Um, ok. In Spain, most precipitation actually falls in the..."  
"Something specific!" Ash interrupted. "I need you to tell me exactly what type of misfile you made with my file!"  
Rumisial looked confused. "Ash, you know that already. I put your file in the wrong cabinet and misplaced two pages of Emily's file."  
"Right... multiple pages." Ash took a deep breath. The file folders she'd looked at had only held one page each; that should have cued her to the fact that the filing room of her dream was imaginary. "But... my file. There's no chance that you spilled something on the page, or anything like that. You misfiled it? Definitely?"  
"Yes. Why?"  
"I had a nightmare that I was in the filing room... I found my file, but I'd really been female all along, and something spilled on it just making me think I used to be a male."  
"Ash... I told you, it's all codes. Gender is labeled one letter, either 'M' or 'F'. There's no way I could have spilled something to change that."  
"You have NO idea how glad I am to hear that."

* * *

Emily opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. What an awful dream... for sure, she couldn't tell Ash about it. Ash would freak at the idea that the misfile might all be in her head. Emily rolled over, vowing to forget all about the though that Ash might always have been a girl.

* * *

Missi pulled out a notebook, writing furiously. She'd looked up 'Lucid Dreaming' on the Internet last evening and it had recommended keeping a dream diary. This dream was the most bizarre one yet; even weirder then the whole car-chasing dragon one. She finished writing out the last of the details she could remember and then looked it over. She circled the word 'misfile', then looked at the 'Team Misfile' patch she'd made. "Wrong cabinet?" Missi asked. "Then... what does my sub-conscious think the right cabinet for Ash is?"  
With a sigh, Missi closed the notebook.

* * *

The next day, Ash and Rumisial came out of class to find Emily impatiently waiting for them. "Em, what's up?"  
"Um... Ash? Can I speak with Rumisial alone for a bit?" Emily asked.  
"Sure. Is something wrong?"  
"No. It's just... I had some questions about the misfile, and I wanted to ask him in private. I, um, didn't want to get your hopes up if it turns out that... it's probably nothing."  
Ash frowned. It wasn't like Emily to sound so disjointed. "Sure, whatever." she said. "Rumisial, I'll meet you at home. Em, did you want to come along?"  
"Yeah, sure." Emily waited till Ash was out of earshot, then grabbed Rumisial and dragged him into an empty room.  
"What did you want to know?" Rumisial asked.  
"Is there any way your misfile just changed Ash's memories? That she was always a girl, you just made her think she was a boy?"  
"No! I told Ash already, that's not the way the files work. The only way that could have happened was a deliberate alteration to the first page of Ash's file."  
Emily sighed in relief, then frowned. "Wait, you already told Ash?"  
"She had a nightmare last night about the same thing, and asked me about it."  
"Ash had a nightmare too?"  
"Yeah. Wait, you and Ash had the same nightmare?"  
"What a weird coincidence." Emily paused. "Um... it WAS a coincidence, right? I mean, that we two dreamed something similar?"  
"Um... maybe." Rumisial frowned. "Were both you and Ash in the dream?"  
"Yes, but I've been dreaming about Ash a lot, recently."  
Rumisial scratched his head. "Well... I don't know a lot about dream messaging, but it used to be one of the ways the Big Guy had us Angels pass on messages. If you and Ash had the exact same dream, maybe someone was trying to tell you two something."  
"Wait... Missi was in my dream." said Emily. "If Missi wasn't in Ash's dream, that proves they were different dreams, right? Did Ash say anything about me or Missi being in her dream?"  
"No." said Rumisial, but he was still frowning.  
"What is it?"  
"Well... if Ash and Missi were in your dream, and it's possible that Ash had the same dream... what about Missi?"  
"Oh my god!" Emily's eyes went wide. "Then... she'd know about the misfile! Um, maybe. I don't remember Ash or I talking much about it in the dream."  
"Well, let's keep an eye on Missi." said Rumisial. "Hopefully, I'm just worrying about nothing."  
"All right, but let's not talk about this to Ash. She's got enough to deal with while awake, I don't want her worrying about when she's sleeping too."

* * *

Cassi sighed, putting the quill pen, and stretched. She'd been working all night and day on this list. So far, however, she had to admit that all the ideas were long shots. What were the odds, after all, the Ash would ask Cassi to send her to Fort Know or Area 51? As for Ash wanting to go to Hell... well, even if Cassi WAS allowed to transport mortals still alive to the afterlife, she'd require special permission from Him in order to do it.


End file.
